KUWAIT: A numberof MPs said yesterday they are ready to support privatization of some publicservices, but linked it to strong regulation by the government to create jobsfor citizens and prevent misuse. MP Safa Al-Hashem said she has no objection toany government plan to privatize public services provided there is a stronggovernment monitoring of the resulting companies in order to avoid misuse,exploitation of people and hiking the cost of services.
But the lawmakersaid she remains very cautious in supporting privatization, since Kuwait'sexperiment in this field has not been encouraging, adding that the performanceof governments has also been below expectations. Privatization has remained ahighly controversial issue in Kuwait because of unsuccessful instances in thepast, most of which did not improve services but resulted in an increase inprices.
MP KhalilAl-Saleh said he prefers the privatization of the management of public serviceswithout privatizing the service itself, saying this method improves the serviceand leads to the creation of more jobs for Kuwaitis. The lawmaker saidprivatization of management will result in a major transformation in theperformance of public services, adding that he opposes full privatizationbecause previous experiments have not been promising. Opposition MP RiyadhAl-Adasani earlier this week said he will oppose any plan by the government toprivatize public services because it will lead to adding financial burdens oncitizens.
Meanwhile, MPAhmad Al-Fadhl yesterday launched a scathing attack on what he called"suspicious accounts" operating on social media that have beentargeting Kuwait, recalling the rumors and fabricated news spread by thoseaccounts when HH the Amir faced some health issues that he recovered from.
Fadhl said mostof these accounts are those of enemies of Kuwait and pointed out that between70 and 80 percent of them are run by non-Kuwaitis who aim at destabilizing thecountry. Fadhl called on the information ministry and the cyber crimedepartment to crack down on those accounts and block all accounts thatundermine the country and its interests. He said he would support an Amiridecree to block such accounts.